


We Won't Tell You to Heel

by explosionshark



Category: Runaways (Comics)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 11:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18915865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/explosionshark/pseuds/explosionshark
Summary: They donotsteal the dog.They liberate him.





	We Won't Tell You to Heel

**Author's Note:**

> something short and silly, from two prompts sent to me from a drabble list on [tumblr](http://explosionshark.tumblr.com) . "“We are not going to steal someone’s dog” and "“Do you think we’re bad people?”

“We are _not_ going to steal someone’s dog,” Nico hisses, apparently not quietly enough, if the dirty looks their table was now attracting from every diner patron within earshot was anything to go by.

“Of _course_ we’re not stealing anyone’s dog!” Chase says loudly, laughing unconvincingly. He pauses while the other diners turn back to their own meals, then leans in closer, dropping his voice. “We’re going to _liberate_ the dog.”

“Absolutely n—” Soft pressure on her forearm catches Nico’s attention. She glances over and Karolina’s face peering down at her, big blue eyes wide, full bottom lip trapped between her straight, white movie star teeth. The personification of _please, can we?_ “Oh, Karrie, no—”

“You’re outvoted,” Chase announces triumphantly.

“Gert,” Nico tries but it’s useless, Gert’s already shaking her head. “Victor?”

“Sorry, Nico,” Victor says, not sounding especially sorry at all.

“We’re _trying_ to keep a low profile,” Nico reminds them, tugging resentfully on the collar of her work shirt under the sweater she’s wearing. “We can’t just go stealing—”

“—Liberating,” Karolina cuts in, gently.

“ _Liberating_ ,” Nico amends through gritted teeth, earning a brilliant smile from Karolina that kind of throws off her train of thought. But _only_ for a moment. “We can’t just go around liberating every animal we see.”

“Now, who said anything about liberating every animal we see?” Chase grins in that way that he thinks is charming, but is really just stupid. “Nico, I know you want to impress your new vegan girlfriend — and, again, _mazel tov,_ about time, y’know — but that’s a _little_ extreme. We’re only just going to liberate the _one_ animal.”

“The. Dog. Does. Not. Belong to us,” Nico repeats. “This is illegal.”

“So is squatting at the Hostel and stealing cable from the neighbors and magically adopting a preteen, probably,” Gert chimes in helpfully. “Not to mention the thousands of dollars of property damage we’ve racked up at this point and—”

“Please, Gert,” Nico glowers. “A little louder.”

 _No one_ seems to want to listen to reason. “Guys—”

“Nico,” Molly finally chimes in and, _oh_ , this is worse than Karolina. She’s tearing up a little, big brown eyes watery and so earnest, mouth twisted into a hopeful half-smile. “Please? His owners are _so_ mean to him. It wouldn’t be right to just leave him there.”

And so they steal the damn dog.

All-in-all, it’s one of their more successful missions as a team. They drive up to Molly’s old neighbor’s house around midnight, parking Chase’s van around the corner because it’s loud as _hell_ and way too obvious. Victor scouts the area by drone, sends them the go-ahead text that has Chase and Nico sneaking down the sidewalk, while Gert and Karolina keep the van running. Molly’s at home, hopefully in bed because it’s a school night, but more likely bouncing around in anticipation of the results of their attempted dog-napping.

It’s altogether a simple affair. The dog in question is asleep in the yard and Nico does feel a pang of sympathy for the animal, tied to a pole in the center of the yard, his matted fur hanging limply off his tiny body, pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Chase shoves the dog in her arms to keep him quiet as he growls softly in the dark, unnerved by their presence in his yard. Miraculously, he doesn’t bark while Chase slinks off with the bolt cutters to cut the chain.

The old dog is pliant in her arms, more fur than anything else. When they make it back to the van, she tries to hand him off to a doting Karolina, but the dog backs resolutely into Nico’s lap, blinking up at her with big, rheumy eyes and whining softly until she reaches out to stroke his messy fur.

“He stinks,” Nico gripes, heedless of Karolina and Victor’s outraged gasps. “And he needs a haircut.”

She takes care of it the next day, hoping that they’ll never find themselves in a situation where they’ll need a dog grooming spell more than this. The old dog looks handsome and more comfortable with his fur trimmed and free of tangles.

“We’ll need to go buy brushes,” Molly says seriously over breakfast the next morning, leaning down in her chair to feed bits of toast to the dog while Rufus watches warily from atop the fridge across the room. “And a dog bed. And dog food. And—”

“Just the essentials,” Nico cuts her off. “We can’t keep him.”

Molly’s big, sad beseeching face makes a return, but Nico tries to steel herself against it.

“We already have a cat, Molly. And a dinosaur,” Nico reminds her gently. “We can’t take care of dog on top of that, too.”

And yet, Nico finds herself drifting towards the dog collars at the pet store, grabbing one of the ones with the reflective thread sewn into it so that he’ll stand out on walks at night. She’s the one to slip it on his neck that night when he pads into her and Karolina’s bedroom, wagging his tail so hard his whole butt shakes when he hears her call out to him.

“Do you think we’re bad people?” Nico asks, later, under the covers with the dog on her lap, dozing as she absently scratches behind his ears.

Karolina hums, pulling herself from the edge of sleep and turning over to give Nico her attention and, _god_ , Nico loves her for it. Loves her even more for the soft, sleepy kiss she presses to Nico’s bare arm, for the way her hand automatically drifts towards the dog’s fur, stroking him softly before seeking out Nico’s fingers and squeezing them gently. “For rescuing the dog?”

“Stealing him,” Nico points out, feeling silly but not able to shake the distress that’s been clinging to her for days. “He had a home.”

“I think if anyone in the world knows how little that means sometimes, Nico, it’s us,” Karolina says, and presses another kiss to Nico’s arm, and then another higher on the swell of her shoulder, and then higher still to the side of Nico’s neck as her arms gently guide Nico back into the pillows. “He’s okay. We’re okay. Go to sleep.”

And, well, it’s hard to argue with that. So Nico doesn’t.


End file.
